Tent erecting framework



1957 8 c. F.-JONSSON 2,808,846

TENT ERECTING FRAMEWORK Filed Aug. 17, 1954 United States Patent TENT ERECTING FRAMEWORK Charles Fredrik Jonsson, Flekkefjord, Norway Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,347 Claims priority, application Norway August 29, 1953 1 Claim. (Cl. 135-4) The present invention relates to a tent erecting framework and has as an object the provision of a framework which enables the tent to be erected or taken down and folded together in a minimum of time. At the same time, the framework gives the tent a stable support so that the tent in erected position can stand without the use of backstays which, however, may be used as supports to resist stresses which are due to, for example, wind.

In accordance with the invention, the framework comprises corner poles adapted to support the tent on the ground, and resilient ribs which at one end are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the corner poles, the pivotal connection between the poles and ribs being located on the inside of the poles and spaced from the ends thereof so that the ends act as stop abutments in order to restrict the upward movement of the ribs which are free to swing downwards so as to lie parallel with the poles in the folded condition of the tent. A central top member is provided to which the other end of each rib is pivotally connected, and which comprises stop abutments which restrict upwards movement of the ribs, but which leaves the upper ends of the ribs free to be moved down to a position in which the ribs are adjacent to and parallel with each other with the corner poles, i. e. the position in which the tent has been taken down and is folded together.

According to a further feature of the invention the top member consists of an inner frame to which the upper ends of the said ribs are pivotally connected, and an outer frame attached to the lower surface of the first frame and adapted to serve as stop abutment for the ribs. I

Tent erecting frameworks are known which consist of flexible rods which may either be made in one piece or consist of two or more pieces which are displaceable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction, the flexible rods extending from the ground and being assembled at the top of the tent by securing each rod in a hole in a top piece which connects the rods.

In a known embodiment the rods can be aligned by means of connections between the rods and in another embodiment the rods and spreading rods hinged thereto are linked together with spaced top discs for bracing.

By dividing the framework according to the present invention with rigid corner poles and ribs which are pivotally connected with the said poles and assembled and braced in the top of the tent by means of the double ring, additional bracing is unnecessary and the erecting or taking down of the tent is achieved by simple measures which will appear from the following description.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the erecting framework showing the tent in folded condition.

Figure 2 shows the tent in erected condition, the different steps of the erecting of the framework being indicated in dash-dot lines.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the connection. between the resilient roof ribs and the tent poles.

Figure 4 is a side view and Figure 5 a plan view of the connection between the upper end of one of the ribs and the said central ring.

In the drawing 1 designates the tent corner poles and 2 the resilient ribs, which are connected with the poles and adapted to form a frame for the roof of the tent.

As shown in Fig. 3 the rib 2 is pivotally connected with the pole 1 about a pin 3, which is secured to a lug 4 secured to the pole 1. The end of the pole extends beyond the pivot point so as to form a stop abutment for limiting the pivotal movement upwards and outwards.

The other end of the rib is, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, pivotally connected with a frame or ring 5 which in its turn is welded to a lower frame or ring 6 in such a way that the latter frame forms a stop abutment for limiting the swinging movement of the rib relative to the frame.

As shown in Fig. 1, in the folded condition of the tent the ribs 2 lay with their part of the cloth 7, which is also fastened with straps, along their associated poles 1. When the tent is to be erected, the poles are spread along the ground towards the corners of the tent location and put into the ground, whereupon the tent is erected as a whole by pressing the ribs 2 from below vertically upwards such as will appear from Fig. 2. When the ribs have reached their top position, they are supported in this position by means of the connections described with reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Thus the poles will be forced outwards towards the cloth and will not collapse. The tent can stand in erected position without backstays. As mentioned backstays are however used to resist stresses which are due to atmospheric conditions and wind.

The tent cloth is an integral sheet which may be fastened to the framework by means of straps or the framework may be sewed into the tent cloth. The cloth is fastened to the lower portion of the pole by means of elastic straps 9 (Fig. 2) which stretch or contract according to weather conditions. This arrangement is used instead of the usual straps which are pegged to the ground.

It will be appreciated that the tent according to the invention distinguishes itself .by being adapted to be erected and taken down in a minimum of time.

I claim:

A tent erecting framework comprising corner poles for supporting the tent on the ground, resilient ribs which at one end are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the corner poles, the pivotal connection between said corner poles and ribs being located on the inside of the corner poles and spaced from the ends thereof, said ends acting as stop abutments to restrict the upward movement of said ribs which are free to swing downwards so as to lie parallel with the poles to place the tent in folded condition, a central top member to which the other ends of said ribs are pivotally connected, and which comprises stop abutments which restrict the upward movement of said ribs, said stop abutments leaving the ribs free to be moved down to a position in which said ribs are adjacent to and substantially parallel with each other and with the corner poles; said central top member comprising an inner frame to which the upper ends of the said ribs are pivotally connected, and an outer frame attached beneath said first frame to serve as the stop abutment for the ribs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 136,456 Petersen et al Mar. 4, 1873 379,274 Hamilton Mar. 13, 1888 1,560,110 Skog Nov. 3, 1925 1,738,219 Wickstrum Dec. 3, 1929 2,530,765 Greenup Nov. 21, 1950 2,612,900 Treppa Oct. 7, 1952 

